Oxygen distribution system and regulator therefor



Dec. 29, 1942. R. FINK ErAl.

OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMAAND REGULATOR THEREFOR Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l K Tess/WAN SIDNEY V- W/NTQN v Carmel-fsf. i

dac oa P.'

Dec. '29, 1942. R-v FINK ErAL'. 2,306,382

` OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND REGULATOR THEREFOR Filed Jan. 28, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VvE-wrok@ PUDOLPH F/NK Maas TESS/wav Sra/ver l/. l/I//NTON E MGH?- manica oec, 29, 1942 UNITED STATES. 4Piiilezuii oFvFlc-E OXYGEN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND REGULATQR TBEREFOR Rudolph Fink, Dayton, Jacob R. Tessman and Sidney V. Winton, Yellow Springs, and Charles E. Wight, Dayton, Ohio Application January 2s, 1941, serial No. 376,326 'i claims. (ci. 12a-.294)

(Granted vunder the m of Maren s,

amended April 30, 1928; 370` 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Goverment for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to means for regulating the iiow of gas to distribution lines and more particularly relates to a device for controlling the supply of oxygen from a high pressure source to a plurality of consumer lines in an aircraft for consumption by the occupants of the aircraft in metered quantities dependent on the altitu'de of the flight.

e Two principal means f'or controlling the flow,

of oxygen to one or more consumer lines in an aircraft have been employed 4in the prior art and' a resume of the various prior art regulating systems is disclosed in N. A. C. A. Technical Report No. 130, part 4, entitled Oxygen Instruments ,published 1922. One means for controlling thev oxygen supply comprised a pressure regulator adjusted automatically to vary the metered quantity` delivered to the consumer line in ac'- `cordance with the requirements for different altitudes. e y

Each of the above systems have serious disadvantages when it is attempted to apply them to aircraft where multiple consumer lines must be supplied with oxygen. The first system has the disadvantage that if a plurality of consumer lines Aare connected in parallel vto the manifold or chamber, different quantities of oxygen will be-delivered to each consumer dependent on the lengthof the consumer lines and the breathing characteristics of the' respective consumers. The

second systemfsuilers from the disadvantage that a vdifferent calibrated delivery orifice must be employed for each diierent total number of con- Which controlled' the flow of oxygen from 4a high pressure cylinder to a chamber forming a manifold through the medium of one or more automatic pressure reducing valves such that the pressure in the chamber or manifold remained substantially constant for a given altitude and some devices were equipped with barometric pressure responsive means acting on the regu' `lator valve controlling the flow of gas to the` chamber such that the chamber pressure would be changed in accordance with change in altisumer lines and further `has the disadvantage that when the consumer lines are connected in parallel beyond the calibrated xed orifice the problem of obtaining a metered equal flow'in each consumer line is still present similar to the diiliculty present in the rst system.

In order'to obviate the difficulties encountered when lsupplying a plurality of -oxygen consumer lines it is at present the practice to employ a separate automatic regulator for each consumer tude. The regulator controlling the chamber-or manifold pressure operated to vary the size of of gas from thechamber to the consumer line. f The second regulator controlling the flow of gas to the chamber or manifold was automatically operative to vary the chamber pressure to maintain a pressure difference across the xed orifice such that constant metered flow of oxygen would bedelivered to the consumer line for a particular altitude. The second regulator was also provided with a modier responsive to barometric pres..ure so that the chamber pressure could be 55 hence one or any number of lines may be supplied line whichwhlle satisfactory from an oxygen distribution standpoint, greatly increases the cost of the distribution system with a considerable increase in weight and necessary maintenance.

ln accordance with the present invention, the difliculty of delivering a meteredquantity of oxygen to a plurality of consumer-lines is solved by connecting the high pressure source to an automatic pressure regulator having a barometric pressure responsive modifier for controlling the pressure of oxygen within a chamber or manifold sealed from the outside rat'mosphere and any desirednumber of consumer lines are connected to the chamber or manifold, a calibrated orifice or flow restriction beinglnserted in the line of iiow from the chamber or manifold to each consumer line. The regulator is operative to maintain a pressure within the chamber so that the pressure difference across each delivery orifice will be suflicient to give a definite metered flow to each consumer line for a particular altitude while the pressure is' varied in accordance with the outside atmospheric pressure to vary the metered fiow to'meet the requirements at diil'erent alti# tudes. Withthe device in accordance with the invention the chamber pressure will' be the same irrespective of the number of consumer lines and of a flow regulating valve for controlling the .adjustment of the` valve' including a. control member passing through and connected to said ance with the invention.. 'Il

with al metered quantity of oxygen dependent on altitude without it being necessary to adjust'the regulator.

In the system in accordance with the invention the regulator itself embodies novel features of construction which make thesame a simple and rugged device, this being accomplished by employing a metallic bellows for an aneroid to accomplish altitude adjustment of the regulating valve and also employing a similar bellows as a sealing means in conjunctionvwith the aneroid, the inherent resilience of the bellows being utilized to resist the deformation of the aneroid under varying atmospheric pressures, thus eliminating the useof control springs.

The present invention also incorporates a novel safety feature in the provision of a pair of automatic regulators of the character described each connected -in parallel to a high pressure oxygen source and to a common delivery manifold which in turn is connected through individual flow restricting orifices to consumer lines. The parallel connected regulators insure operation of the system eve'n though one of the regulator valves becomes disabled and falls tn function.

The principal object of the invention is 'the provision of an oxygen regulating system for aircraft and the like in which a regulator is connected to a source of oxygen at high pressure and controls the pressure of gas within a chamber or manifold, a plurality of consumer lines being connected to the chamber in parallel, with a flow restricting orifice being arranged in the line of ow of gas from the chamber to each respective consumer line', and the regulator incorporating barometric pressure responsive means to vary the chamber pressure in accordance with the ambient atmospheric pressure.

A further object of the invention is the provision in an oxygen distribution system of an automatic barometric pressure controlled regulator operative to supply metered quantities of oxygen to a plurality of consumer lines.

Another object of. the invention is the provisionin a regulator of the character described pressure of oxygenin. a chamber, of resilient sealing means for sealing the chamber from the atmosphere, -an'aneroid operative to modify the sealing member, the inherent resilience of the aneroid and the sealing member being the sole means resisting deformation of the aneroidunder varying atmospheric pressure.

Other objects of the invention not specifically described will become apparent by reference to the detailed description in the following speciiication in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in section illustrating the novel oxygen4 distribution system in accord- Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure'fl illustrating a valve detail.v l

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectionalview of one of the calibrated flow restrictions` or 4 metelring oriilces employed in the deviceof Figure Figure 4 is a sectional view of the orifice-illustrated in Figure 3 and taken on lined- 4 of Figure l. l Figure 5 is a view illustrating a x'nodined form of the oxygen distribution system of Figure 1 in.

which two... automatic regulators are employed?? ascenso aircraft when ying at high altitudes. The tanksV are respectively connected by means of conduits .4, 5 and 6 to a'outlet conduit 1 leading to the oxygen regulating device, hereinafter described, a suitable pressure gage G being connected to the conduit 1 at any suitable point for visual observay tion of the tank pressure. The conduit 4 is also connected by means of a check valve 3 and conduit 9 to filling conduit I0, and the conduits l and 6 leading from tanks 2 and 3 are respectively connected to the filling conduit I0 by means of check valves II and I3 and conduits I2 and Il respectively. 'I'he filling conduit I0 is pro- 'vided\with a shut of! valve I5 and a suitable coupling I6 which may be attached to a high pressure oxygen bottle for iilling the respective containers I, 2 and 3 at a pressure of approximately 1500 pounds per square inch, the check valves 8, II and I3 preventing the ow of oxygen to the conduits 4., 5 and 8 respectively during the filling operation and also operative to prevent the return ow of oxygen through the conduits 9, I2 and I4 respectively after the filling operation is complete and the conduit I0 is vented to the atmosphere through the valve I5 which may thereafter be closed. The conduit 1 terminates in a removable coupling member I1 which is provided with a central outlet passage I3 and a filter screen I3 to filter dirt or sediment from the oxygen fed to the regulating system. The coupling member I1 is adapted to be threaded into the body of an automatic regulator generally indicated by the reference numeral 20.

The oxygen regulator 20 comprises a cylindrical casng or housing 2| arranged to form a chamber 22 which is sealed from communication with the'outside atmosphere. 'I'he housing 2| is closed at one end by means of a removable cover plate 23 suitably secured thereto by means of screws or the like, and having its other end closed by means of a removable cover plate 26 having a centrally disposed aperture 2B therein. The cover plate 24 also has integrally formed therewith a U shaped bracket 23 which serves as a supporting base for control mechanism hereinafter described. Adjacent one end, the housing 2l is provided with an enlarged boss 21 which is suitablybored toreceive a sleeve member 2l which is secured to the boss by means of screws 29. The sleeve member 23 is providedl with ,a centrally threaded bore 30 into which the coupling member I1 may be threaded, the bore 3l communicating with a central passage 3i which in turn communicates with a throttling port 33 centrally formed ina plug-member 34 which is A suitably clamped into an enlarged counterbore in the sleeve 23 by means of an annular threaded locking sleeve 35'. The lower portion of the locking sleeve 35 also serves as a guide for a reciproeating` valve member 36, the valve member being along its sides allowing for the free escape of` oxygen from the passage 33 to the spaces 38 formed between the valve member and the sociated conduit. As seen in Figures 3 and V4,

side with a conical depression 39 which-serves v as a seat for the pointed end of a toggle link 40.

`A similar toggle link 4| has a4 pointed end similarly seated in an adjustable abutment 42 threadf ed into the opposite wall ofthe casing member 2|. The toggle links 40 and 4| are pivotally connected at their inner ends by means of a pin 43 to a link 44 which is threaded on to the outer end of an adjusting rod 45 the inner end oi.' l which is threaded intoan enlarged head 41 and by rotation of the adjusting member 45 the pivotal point of the toggle links may be shifted along the axis of the casingl 2|, the adjusted position being maintained by a lock nut 46. The head termined altitude, since the barometric pressure member 41 is provided at its inner end with an enlarged flange 48 which serves as a closure for the inner end of a metal sealing bellows 50, be-

ing secured to the bellows by a sweated solder joint. vThe inner end of the bellows 50 is similarly secured to a boss .on the cover member 24 and is arranged to be concentric with the longitudinal axis ofA the casing 2| and the'aperture in the cover member 241. A rod 5| hasits inner end threaded into the outer endaof the enlarged head 41and has itsjouter end suitably threaded Vinto an Vadjusting member 52. The outer end of the adjusting member 52 is provided with a threaded extension whichA is screwed into a boss 54 formed integral with the disk 55, the lock nut 53 serving'to maintain the adjustable :member 52 in its adjusted position. The disk 55 serves as a closure for the outer end of a metal bellows 56, being suitably soldered thereto. The other end of the bellows is soldered .to a closure member 51 which is rigidly secured by means of screws 58 to the bracket 26 carried by the cover plate 24 of the housing 2|. The disk member 55, metal bellows 56 and closure member 51 together form an aneroid capsule which is evacuated to a pressure of a few millimeters of mercury.

-The chamber 22 of the casing`2l is provided with a pressure relief valve 53 of conventionalA construction which is adapted to relieve excessive pressures built up in the chamber 22 by venting the chamber to'the atmosphere.

0n its lower side,v the chamber 2| is provided with` an enlarged boss 60 which is provided with a central passage 6| communicatingv with ,the A chamber 22 at its inner end and suitably counterbored and threaded adjacent vits outer. end to receive a vcoupling member 62 which is adaptedto be"connected to a conduit 63, the chamber 22,

passage 6| and`conduit 63 together forming a manifold. The conduit 6'3-has `connected therewithl in parallel a pluralityof outlet or vconsumer lines 64a, 64b, 64e, and 64d respectively, each of which is provided with a shutoff valve 65, -a'

the-calibrated iicw restriction 66 which servesas a metering orifice, is made in the form of an elongated metal plug screwed into the interior of 'an associated conduit, for example 64a, and provided with `a centrally disposed capillary passage 51.

\ Operation exerted'on the evacuated aneroid bellows 56 lwill tend to collapse the aneroid bellows in opposition to the inherent resilience of the aneroid. bellows and the sealing bellows 50, the force of atmospheric pressure causing the4 closure member 55 and the linkage connecting the closure member to the toggle links and 4| to move axially to the left from a position as seen in Figure 1. As the aircraft ascends, the force exerted by atmospheric pressure on the aneroid bellows 56 will decrease and due tothe inherent resilience 'of the aneroid bellows and the sealing bellows 5I),

in `ygure l, allowing the valve member 36 to mo e downward to permit ozu/gen to flow through I the throttling orifice 33 and passage 38 (Figure 2) into the chamber 22,' the pressure in the chamber being balanced .against the resilient forces exerted by the aneroid capsule 56 Jand the sealing bellows 50, which in turn are also opposed bythe existing atmospheric pressure. At any given altitude corresponding vto a' definite atmospheric pressure, the pressure of the oxygen within .the chamber 22 will act vo'n the enlarged head 41 and sealing bellows 5l) against the resilient force of the bellows and theatmospheric pressure exerted on the interior of the sealing bellows through the aperture 25 of-the cover plate 24 and also against the force of the atmospheric pressure acting on the aneroid 56. If the pressure within the chamber 22 should increase above. the amount required for balance, the increased pressure wili tend to collapse thevbellows causing the valve control linkage 44, 45 to be moved axially toward the left as seen in Figure 1 Acausing a-closing movement of the valve 36 thus tending to' decrease the iiowof oxygen into the chamber 22 4 with a consequent reduction in the chamber pressure, while the reverseaction will -take place when the chamber pressure falls bef low a predetermined value for the particular existing altitude. Thus the valve 36 is actuated in the same manner as an automatic differential pressure-responsive reducing valve for a constant ambient atmospheric pressure, the aneroid bellows or capsule being operative to alter the bal- .calibrated metering yorii'lce66, and a coupling acter to indicate the conditions of flow in' its as- 75n ance relationeof the pressure within the chamber 22 to the-outside atmospheric pressure as the altitude is changed, thus serving controlling the valve 36.

Oxygen delivered from the containers 2 and 3 through the throttling orifice 33 past the valve disk 31 and through the passages 38 (Figure 2) tothe chamber 22 and from the vchamber may` flow through passage 6| and coupling memberl 62 to the conduit 63 and to each of the parallel connected consumer lines 64a, 64b', etc. and 'if any as a modier for of the valves are opened. oxygen will flow through the capillary passage 61 of the flow restricting member I6 to the flexible consumer hose lines (not shown) connected to the coupling members 88; For a given diameter and length of the capillary passage 81, there exists a denite quantity flow relation dependent upon the pressure difference across the ends of the capillary passage 61, i. e. for a definite pressure difference between the chamber 22 and the outside atmos orifice Il and coupling member il in the same manner as in the device of Figure 1. The operation of the system of Figure is identical in all respects with the operation of the device of Figphere there will occur a constant metered flow of oxygen through the capillary passage 21. Ir-

respective of the number of consumer lines connected to the conduit 83, the same metered ow will occur through each of the lines for a given existing pressure in the chamber 22. Since it is necessary to increase the amount of oxygen supplied to. the occupants of an aircraft as the altitude is increased, the aneroid capsule 5l is operative to continue to move the linkage connecting the aneroid to the toggle links l0 and 4| further towards the right as seen in Figure 1 as the altitude increases, causing a further opening movement oi the valve 36 with an increased flow of oxygen and an increased gas pressure within the chamber 22, thus causing a greater pressure diiference across the metering princes 66 in the respective consumer lines 04a, 64b, etc., and thus causing a corresponding increase in the metered quantity delivered to the various consumers.. It is thus seen that the problem of distributing the proper amount of oxygen to each occupant of an aircraft under the control of a single barometric pressure responsive regulator is accomplished by. means of the structure in accordance with the invention, the provision of the metering oriilces for each consumer line rendering the correct distribution possible as well as permitting either one or a number ofconsumer lines to be in operation without requiring any adjustment of the regulator. the respective lines being placed in or out of action by means of the respective valves 65.

The apparatus further has the feature that all control springs in the regulator have been eliminated by utilizing the inherent resilience of the aneroid bellows 56 and the sealing member It to replace the springs and their function; the material from which the metallic bellows l0 and It are constructed is of course sochosen that the proper resilience will be obtained.

The proper adjustment of the angular position of the' toggle links land Il is roughly determined upon assembly by adjustment of the ad- ,iusting link 45, while the ilnal setting of the link positions is determined by adjustment of the adiustable member 52 from the outside of theregulator chamber 2l, and by this external adjusting means. it becomes possible to regulate the altitude at 'which oxygen flow will commence.

Referrmg now to Figure 5, there is shown a modified form of the oxygen distribution system illustrated in Figure l which diifers therefrom Vure l with the exception that a proper control of the oxygen distribution can still be obtained even Athough one of theregulators 22a or 20h becomes disabled due to sticking of its control valve, the happening of which has frequently occurred. By employing two regulators connected in parallel, the possibility of an accidental failure of the oxygen regulating system is rendered more remote.

It is to be understood while only one stage of automatic pressure regulation has been illustrated in the drawings, that one or more stages of automatic pressure regulating may be employed in series 'with the barometric pressureresponsive regulator illustrated in the drawings; such plural stage regulation, being old in the art, has not been illustrated, in order to simplify the disclosure. l

It is further to be understood that the respective consumer lines Ma, lib, etc. may be directly' connected in parallel to the chamber 22 in place of being connected to the conduit I3, the chamber 22 serving as a manifold in either instance.

Having now described our invention what we believe to be novel and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An oxygen distribution system .for laircraft: comprising a source of oxygen under high pressure, a chamber connected to said high pressureA source, an atmospheric pressure responsive regulatingvalve adapted to control the i'iow of oxygen from said source to said chamber and to maintain a pressure within said chamber bearing a predetermined relation to the ambient atmospheric pressure, a delivery conduit connected to said chamber and a plurality-of consumer conduits connected in parallel to said delivery conduit, each of said consumer conduits including a calibrated non-adjustable metering orifice, and

said oriilces being of substantially equal size, whereby a meteredflow of oxygen will pass througheach of said metering orifices to the respective consumers dependent upon the existing ambient atmospheric pressure.

,l 2. The structure as claimed in claim 1, in which said regulating valve is operative to cut of! the ilow of oxygen from said source to said chamber at ambient atmospheric pressures exceeding a predetermined atmospheric pressure.

3.` An oxygen distributing system comprising a sourcev of oxygen under high pressure, a cham- -ber, a conduit connecting said source and said only in that the inlet supply conduit 'l connected to the respective oxygen tanks I, 2 and'v 2 in the same manner as in the device of Figure l is splitinto two parallel branches 1u and 1b, respectively, which in turn communicate with the regulators 20a and 2lb, each identical in construction with the regulator 2l as illustrated in Figure l. The outlets of the regulators 20a and 2lb are also connected in parallel by means of the conduits a and IIb respectively to the distribution conduit or manifold Il ofthe same type as illustrated in Figure l andwhich is adapted chamber including a 4ilow controlling valve, y

means for actuating said valve to maintain 'a predetermined pressure in said chamber fo'r a constant atmospheric pressure exterior of said chamber, barometric pressure responsive means operatively connected to said valve actuating means to vary said predetermined pressurein accordance with a changing atmospheric pressure and a plurality of consumer conduits connected in parallel to said chamber, and a plurality of nonadjustable metering orifices each associated with a respective one of said consumer conduits and inserted in ther line of ilow of gas from said chamber to each of said .consumer conduits, said metering orifices being of substantially equal sise.

4. An ungen-distribution system comprising a 2,soo,ssa

source of oxygen under high pressure, a manifold, `a plurality of outlets from said manifold each outlet having associated therewith a nonadjustable calibrated metering orifice, all of said orices being of substantially equal size, a connection between said source and said manifold, a.l valve controlling the fiow of gas from said source to said chamber and operative to vary the pressure within said chamber to maintain a constant metered flow through any one of the metering orifices associated with a respective manifold outlet and means associated with said valve for controlling the Isaine to vary the pressure of lgas` within said manifold to thereby vary the metered flow through any one of said outlet orifices in a predeterminedy relation to the ambient atmospheric pressure.

5. An oxygen regulating system comprising a source of oxygen under high pressure, a regulator device connected to said source, said regulator including a chamber sealed from the atmosphere, a valve for controlling the flow of gas from said source to said chamber, a plurality of consumer conduits connected to said chamber in parallel each of said conduits having a flow restricting metering orifice associated therewith, means for actuating said control valve including a resilient element subject to the pressure of gas within said chamber on one side thereof and to the ambient atmospheric pressure on the other side thereof,

and an anerold capsule for modifying the motion tlingoriiice and a valve for controlling the now of gas to said chamber through said orifice,

means for actuating said valve including a linkage extending through said casing, a resilient bellows forming an aneroid capsule subject to ambient atmospheric pressure operatively connected to said linkage, a resilient sealing means connected to said linkage and to said casing to seal the casing from the outside atmosphere, said resilient bellows and said resilient sealing means being the sole means for resiliently opposing the movement of said valve, and an outlet'connected to said chamber.

7. The structure as claimed in claim 6 in which- 

